Re: Concerns regarding the operationalization of the 2009 NGO Act

Transcription

1 H.E Michael Chilufya Sata President of the Republic of Zambia State House Independence Avenue, Woodlands Lusaka 1001 Zambia 31 October 2013 Re: Concerns regarding the operationalization of the 2009 NGO Act Dear President Sata: We, the undersigned 112 civil society organisations based in 46 countries would like draw attention to your Patriotic Front Government s positive commitment in its 2011 party manifesto to promote constant dialogue between the state and the civil society and guarantee the active participation of civil society in matters of social justice and good governance. Thus, we are deeply concerned by your government s decision to operationalize the controversial 2009 Non-Governmental Organisations Act which was introduced by former President Rupiah Banda s government. We believe that implementation of the NGO Act will be a severe setback to the independence of civil society in Zambia while being regressive for the country s democratic trajectory. We stand in solidarity with Zambian NGOs who have taken a principled decision not to reregister under the Act by 11 November 2013 as per your government s directive. We believe that the 2009 NGO Act is severely flawed and breaches a number of international standards on freedom of association. We urge your government to engage in meaningful dialogue with Zambian civil society on the problematic aspects of the current law which we outline below. Arbitrary registration procedures The Act provides for mandatory registration of all NGOs within 30 days of their formation or adoption of their constitution. Failure to do so can invite a fine and imprisonment up to three years. We believe the decision to register should be the prerogative of an individual NGO. Organisations that choose not to register because of a lack of capacity to fulfil various requirements under the Act or otherwise should not be deemed illegal. Furthermore, the Act provides for denial of registration in the public interest, which is not defined leaving scope for the exercise of excessive executive discretion. Worryingly, the Act also ignores the principle of perpetual succession for legal entities by requiring NGOs to re-register every five years.

2 Excessive government control on the NGO sector The Act vests the government dominated NGO Registration Board with broad powers that can seriously impact the independence of the NGO sector. Three functions of the NGO Board are particularly problematic: (i) the power to approve the area of work of NGOs, which allows the government to determine their thematic and geographic areas of functioning and exercise control over their affairs, (ii) the power to provide policy guidelines to harmonise the activities of NGOs with the national development plan, which co-opts NGOs into assisting in the fulfilment of the political priorities of the government of the day reflected in the plan, and (iii) the power to advise on strategies for efficient planning and coordination of activities of NGOs, which treats NGOs as government subsidiaries as opposed to independent entities free to formulate and execute their action plans in line with identified priorities. Curbs on independence of the NGO sector through forced self-regulation and peer monitoring In contrast to established norms where umbrella bodies of NGOs adopt codes of conduct and invite their members to voluntarily adopt them, the Act uses the law to force NGOs to submit to a code of conduct to be monitored by a 12 member NGO Council. Although members of the Council are to be elected by NGOs themselves, the over-reaching mandate of the Council could have serious repercussions on the autonomy and independence of individual NGOs that may not subscribe to majoritarian positions adopted by the Council, which is legally obligated to influence the activities of their peers by playing a monitoring and coordinating role over the NGO sector. In light of the above concerns we urge you to engage with NGOs and civil society groups in drawing up a new NGO law that conforms with international standards and is a fitting tribute to Zambia s commitment to democratic values. As a prelude to this process, we call upon you to suspend the order requiring all NGOs to register by 11 November We would be pleased to discuss these matters with you further. Sincerely, Zambian Civil Society 1. Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD), on behalf of 167 member NGOs 2. Non-Governmental Coordinating Committee(NGOCC), on behalf of 100 member NGOs 3. Civil Society for Reduction (CSPR), on behalf of 70 member NGOs 4. Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC), on behalf of 65 member NGOs 5. ActionAid Zambia 6. Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI)

3 7. Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) 8. Panos Southern Africa 9. Women in Law, Southern Africa (WILSA) 10. Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF) 11. Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) 12. Zambia Civic Education Association (ZCEA) 13. Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) 14. Young Men Christian Association (YMCA) 15. Operation Young Vote (OYV) 16. Caritas Zambia 17. Anti-Voter Apathy Project 18. Zambia Climate Change Network (ZCCN) 19. Zambia Alliance of Women 20. Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection(JCTR) 21. Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) 22. Chipangali Women Development Association 23. Southern Africa Centre for Construction of Resolution of disputes (SACCORD) 24. Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) 25. Consumer Unity Trust International 26. Zambia Social Forum 27. Forum for Youth Organizations (FYOZ) 28. Women s Lobby 29. Mana Windows 30. Zambia Association for Research Development (ZARD) 31. Senior Citizens Association of Zambia 32. Zambia Prison Aid 33. Zambia Land Alliance 34. Farmers Organization Support Programme (FOSUP) 35. The Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC) International Civil Society 1. Centre for National and International Studies, Azerbaijan 2. Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Bahrain 3. Odhikar, Bangladesh 4. Transparency International Bangladesh, Bangladesh 5. Conectas, Brazil 6. RESOCIDE (Civil Society Organization Network for Development), Burkina Faso 7. Coalition Burundaise pour le Developpement et la Rehabilitation Sociale, Burundi

4 8. Solidarite des Femmes Burundaises pour la Lutte contre le Sida et le Paludisme au Burundi, Burundi 9. Terre des Jeunes du Burundi, Burundi 10. Union de Jeunes pour la Paix et le Développement (UJPD), Burundi 11. Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, Cambodia 12. Khmer Youth Association, Cambodia 13. Rural Animal Health Development Organization (RAHDO), Cambodia 14. Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (REDHAC), Cameroon 15. Centre pour la Promotion du Droit (CEPROD), Cameroon 16. Civil Society Monitor, Cameroon 17. Investment Watch, Cameroon 18. Canadian Council for International Co-operation, Canada 19. Convention of Ivoirian Civil Society (CSCI), Cote d Ivoire 20. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), Egypt 21. Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO), Fiji 22. Kepa, Finland 23. Operation a Day's Work Finland (Taksvarkki ry), Finland 24. Conscience International (CI), Gambia 25. German Forum for Human Rights (Forum Menschenrechte), Germany 26. Transparency International, Germany 27. Action Communautaire de Solidarite et d'intervention Sociale (ACSIS), Haiti 28. Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), India 29. National Confederation of Dalit Organisations, (NACDOR) India 30. Frontline Defenders, Ireland 31. Foundation for the Future MENA, Jordan 32. Forum of women's NGOs, Kazakhstan 33. NGO Karaganda Ecological Museum, Kazakhstan 34. Center for Legal Empowerment, Kenya 35. Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), Lebanon 36. Actions for Genuine Democratic Alternatives, Liberia 37. Center for Transparency and Accountability, Liberia 38. Maldives NGO Federation, Maldives 39. Centre de Développement de la Région de Tensift (Forum de Marrakech), Morocco 40. Campaign Against Ignorance & Illiteracy, Nigeria 41. Flexcom Nigeria Network, Nigeria 42. Maranatha Hope, Nigeria 43. Engagement for Peace and Human Rights (RPDH), Republic of Congo 44. Youth Human Rights Movement, Russia 45. Ligue des Droits de la personne dans la region des Grands Lacs (LDGL), Rwanda 46. Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l'homme (RADDHO), Senegal 47. Policy Center, Serbia

5 48. Conscience International (CISL), Sierra Leone 49. National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Somalia 50. Action Aid International, South Africa 51. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, South Africa 52. Centre for Governance, Human Rights and Legal Research, South Sudan 53. Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), South Sudan 54. South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Rights Network ( SSHRDN), South Sudan 55. South Sudan Human Rights Society For Advocacy (SSHURSA), South Sudan 56. ACT Alliance, Switzerland 57. Tanzania Gender Network Programme, Tanzania 58. Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition, Tanzania 59. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Thailand 60. Concertation Nationale de la Société Civile du Togo (CNSC Togo), Togo 61. Charity & Security Network, USA 62. Freedom House, USA 63. International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, USA 64. Article 19, United Kingdom 65. Citizens for Democratic Rights in Eritrea, United Kingdom 66. East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, Uganda 67. Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), Uganda 68. Human Rights Network Uganda (HURINET-U), Uganda 69. Summit Foundation (SUFO), Uganda 70. Uganda National NGO Forum, Uganda 71. International Association Human Rights "Fiery Hearts Club", Uzbekistan 72. Accion Solidaria on HIV/Aids, Venezuela 73. CIVILIS Derechos Humanos, Venezuela 74. Sinergia, Venezuelan Association of Civil Society Organizations, Venezuela 75. Counseling Services Unit, Zimbabwe 76. Zimbabwe Election Support Network, Zimbabwe 77. Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Zimbabwe